In the past, a number of devices have been proposed for use by golfers, to aid them in developing and improving their swings. Unfortunately, many of the prior art devices concerned with the swing of the club have been expensive to purchase and/or difficult to use. As a consequence, these devices have not gained much favor with a large number of golfers.
The Strahan U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,346 entitled xe2x80x9cGOLF SWING TRAINING DEVICExe2x80x9d teaches the use of weighted components on a shaft used for helping a golfer develop his swing. Strahan mentions that it is the goal of his device to provide a golf swing training device for teaching a golfer to perfect an inside-out swing of a golf club, but his device bears little relation to the present invention.
The Pelz U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,155 entitled xe2x80x9cGOLF CLUB HAVING MEANS OF ALIGNING RELATIVE TO A USERxe2x80x9d is of marginal pertinence to the instant invention inasmuch as it is a putter type device, having a club head equipped with a striking face designed to contact a golf ball, rather than being strictly a training device bearing some degree of relationship to the present invention, by the use of which a ball is not struck.
The Flege U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,668 entitled xe2x80x9cPENDULUM GOLF PUTTERxe2x80x9d is another device involving the use of a club head that during use is designed to contact a golf ball, rather than being a golf swing position trainer advantageously configured to in effect force the golfer to maintain his or her hands, arms, shoulders and hips in a desirable and effective relationship during the swing.
The Richards U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,111 entitled xe2x80x9cGOLF SWING SIMULATOR DEVICExe2x80x9d is an elaborate device that would be expensive to produce and difficult to use. This patent would solve few of the problems with golf swing that are solved by the use of the instant invention.
The Olsen GOLF SWING TRAINING CLUB, U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,147, has a weighted head but fails to deal with the important matter of the positioning of the golfer""s hands relative to his torso.
The DeBack U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,481 entitled xe2x80x9cGOLF SWING MUSCLE STRENGTHENER AND SWING DEVELOPER DEVICExe2x80x9d is another instance of the use of weights for developing a golfer""s swing. However, only a few golfers would be able to use such heavy weights.
In designing my novel golf swing position trainer, I was mindful of the fact that many golfers tend to develop golf swings that are inconsistent with the ball being hit squarely, and having it travel in the expected direction. To this end I have designed a device intended to teach the fundamentals of the golf swing to a golfer, without this novel device being intended to actually strike a golf ball. My golf swing position trainer is advantageously configured to in effect force the golfer to maintain his or her hands, arms, shoulders and hips in a desirable and effective relationship during the swing.
My novel device is manifestly intended for use by males as well as females, and for left handed golfers as well as right handed golfers, but for the purpose of simplifying the description, I intend, when using the personal pronouns his or him, to include the fact that the golfer may be female, where the pronouns hers or her would normally apply. Also, it will later be seen that I have illustrated my novel device in use by a right handed golfer inasmuch as something more than 85% of the world""s population is believed to be right handed. Quite obviously, my device will manifestly be marketed for left handed as well as right handed golfers, and the descriptive portions appearing herein that specifically mention right handed golfers are clearly not intended to preclude the use of a suitably configured version of my invention by a left handed golfer.
The golf swing position trainer I have developed is preferably constructed of a single piece of stiff material, that has been configured into a compound curvature designed to provide vision and feel references for enabling the golfer to achieve the correct golf swing position movement and ultimately improve his golf swing.
More specifically, my golf swing position trainer has a handle portion attached at a first end of the device, with a positioning reference located at the other end of the device. The handle portion is configured to cause the golfer to hold the position trainer in the appropriate manner for the position trainer to be moved with both hands in the general manner of a golf club. The handle portion represents a component of a relatively large U-shaped or arcuately-shaped portion of the position trainer, with an intermediate leg portion of the position trainer representing another part of the relatively large U-shaped portion. The intermediate leg portion resides in approximately the same plane as the handle portion and is disposed somewhat less than 180xc2x0 away from the handle portion.
A second, relatively small U-shaped portion of the position trainer in effect forms a continuation of the intermediate leg portion, with a smooth curve being formed at the location where these portions join. The second, relatively small U-shaped portion is disposed in a plane residing in approximately an orthogonal relationship with the plane of the relatively large U-shaped portion. It is a part of the relatively small U-shaped portion that is to be maintained by the golfer against the biceps of one of his arms during a significant part of his swing, thus assuring the golfer""s hands, wrists, arms and shoulders being maintained at a proper relationship to the chest portion of the golfer.
The second end of the position trainer represents the previously mentioned positioning reference, which is relatively short and in effect forms a continuation of the relatively small U-shaped portion. The positioning reference is disposed at approximately a 45xc2x0 angle to the plane of the relatively small U-shaped portion and points generally away from the handle portion. The positioning reference provides important visual as well as feel references to the golfer, and at one part of the swing of the position trainer, the positioning reference indicates to the golfer, the line of sight to the target. By line of sight to the target I mean a line to a point selected by the golfer, such as a location on the middle of the fairway, or the cup on the green.
A recent improvement to my position trainer involves a modification of the curvature located at the end of the device that is remote from the handle. This modified configuration involves approximately the last inch and one-half of the device remote from the handle being additionally bent, which allows the left wrist of a right handed golfer a more neutral position, which correlates into a club face that is more nearly square when the club is at the top of the swing.
Another recent modification of my novel golf swing position trainer involves the creation of an additional bend formed in the immediate vicinity of the handle, with this additional bend allowing the upper end of my device to stay in close contact with the golfer""s biceps region during the downswing transition, thus assuring comfortable contact. I have found that this additional bend minimizes unwanted tension in the left arm of a right handed golfer during the start of the downswing, or during the downswing transition.
It is thus to be seen that I have provided a readily transportable position trainer device effective in causing the golfer to maintain the club handle in the appropriate relationship to his or her upper body throughout the swing of the club, with no contact of the trainer device with a golf ball being involved.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a golf swing position trainer that is uncomplicated, affordable, easy to utilize, and highly effective in helping a beginning or intermediate golfer develop a highly effective swing.
It is another object of this invention to provide a golf swing position trainer configured into a compound curvature providing vision and feel references to enable the golfer to achieve the correct golf swing position movement and ultimately improve his golf swing.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a golf swing position trainer that incorporates positive transfer training, or in other words, enables highly effective motor skill learning.
It is yet still another object of my invention to provide a novel device that, if used for approximately ten minutes per day, can help the golfer achieve effective motor skill learning of the ideal golf swing.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide a golf swing position trainer of single piece, rigid construction that is configured to maintain a desirable relationship with the golfer""s biceps during a portion of the swing, and thus assure the hands of the golfer being maintained at a desired distance from his chest during the swing, and his wrists, arms and shoulders in a highly desirable and effective relationship without the extended arm being under tension.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide a golf swing position trainer that can readily be manufactured for use either by a left handed or a right handed golfer.
These and other objects, features and advantages will become more apparent as the description proceeds.